THE WRETCHED AND UNDONE

Marcin Anderwald and his wife, Agnieszka “Aga,” are Polish immigrants trying to make a go of it in Texas Hill Country. When the Civil War breaks out and Texas throws in with the Confederacy, the Rebels hire Marcin for his carpentry skills. Enter Pvt. Augustus Brewer, a vicious excuse for a human being. Marcin is instrumental in sending Brewer on a fatal mission, and his body is grotesquely mutilated. Marcin, a decent man, is filled with remorse, having known that the lame Brewer would probably be killed. But here the Gothic starts: Pvt. Brewer lays a curse on the Anderwalds and their descendants. Their youngest child is killed by water moccasins. Soon after, Aga dies, but she becomes a ghost, a figure in white, fighting, as well as she can, Brewer’s evil, sensed as a black shadow accompanied by a horrible stench. And soit goes down through the decades. Marcin’s son Zacharias and his wife aren’t immune, nor is their son, John Marcin Anderwald, and his wife and children. Which brings us to the near-present and the danger of yet another generation. We can only hope that Brewer is now satisfied or exorcised. In Weiner’s debut novel, her characters are well drawn, often complicated, people; even the most flawed have backstories to help us understand them. The battle of good versus evil—Aga versus Brewer—is so well done that readers may find themselves half believing this unnerving tale, the mark of a really good ghost story. Here is Marcin being spooked by the dark shadow (and in a graveyard!): “A soft breeze began to stir again, shepherding a raw and menacing wail through the air.” There is so much to this book: good versus evil, really scary, spooky stuff (and let’s not forget the camels and the peafowl).

Mar 18, 2025 - 07:35

Marcin Anderwald and his wife, Agnieszka “Aga,” are Polish immigrants trying to make a go of it in Texas Hill Country. When the Civil War breaks out and Texas throws in with the Confederacy, the Rebels hire Marcin for his carpentry skills. Enter Pvt. Augustus Brewer, a vicious excuse for a human being. Marcin is instrumental in sending Brewer on a fatal mission, and his body is grotesquely mutilated. Marcin, a decent man, is filled with remorse, having known that the lame Brewer would probably be killed. But here the Gothic starts: Pvt. Brewer lays a curse on the Anderwalds and their descendants. Their youngest child is killed by water moccasins. Soon after, Aga dies, but she becomes a ghost, a figure in white, fighting, as well as she can, Brewer’s evil, sensed as a black shadow accompanied by a horrible stench. And soit goes down through the decades. Marcin’s son Zacharias and his wife aren’t immune, nor is their son, John Marcin Anderwald, and his wife and children. Which brings us to the near-present and the danger of yet another generation. We can only hope that Brewer is now satisfied or exorcised. In Weiner’s debut novel, her characters are well drawn, often complicated, people; even the most flawed have backstories to help us understand them. The battle of good versus evil—Aga versus Brewer—is so well done that readers may find themselves half believing this unnerving tale, the mark of a really good ghost story. Here is Marcin being spooked by the dark shadow (and in a graveyard!): “A soft breeze began to stir again, shepherding a raw and menacing wail through the air.” There is so much to this book: good versus evil, really scary, spooky stuff (and let’s not forget the camels and the peafowl).